Pope Francis to be First Pope to Visit North

Wednesday, 10 September 2014 - 17:12

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In his trip to Sri Lanka, that will take place between the 13th and the 15th of January 2015, before proceeding to the Philippines, Pope Francis will visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Madhu and will thus be the first Pope in history to set foot in a territory where most inhabitants are Tamil. Francis chooses to touch on the sore point of the civil war between the Sinhalese and the Tamil people that devastated the island for 26 years (1983-2009) and has left deep wounds.

The pope will celebrate Mass in the Shrine on the 14th of January, where he will meet and bless the many Tamil families who were victims of the war.